Apparatus for automatically spraying lumber with preservative fluid



ly 2, 1 40- M. B. FRANK 2 206,179

APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY SPRAYING LUMBER WITH PRESERVATIVE FLUID Filed Sept. 12, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 A i412 A July 2, 1940.

M. B. FRANK APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY SPRAYING LUMBER WITH PRESERVATIVE FLUID Filed Sept. 12, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 .July 2., 1940. FRANK 2,206,179

APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY SPRAYING LUMBER WITH PRE SERVATIVE FLUID Filed Sept. 12, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented July 2, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY SPRAYING LUMBER WITH PRE- SERVATIVE FLUID Matthew B. Frank, St. Helena, Oreg. Application September 12, 1938, Serial No. 229,606 6 Claims. (Cl. 91-44) This invention relates to spraying apparatus the opposite sides and edges of the lumber in a and more particularly to a novel apparatus for manner hereinafter described. Arranged above automatically spraying the opposite sides and the supply tank is a pipe or conduit 6, one end edges of lumber with a preservative mixture to of which is connected with an air compressor 1 of 5 prevent the formation of mold thereon and pros standard construction, while the other end of 5 tect the lumber fromdestructive parasites and the conduit leads to a lumber receiving housing the deleterious action of the elements. or compartment, indicated at 8. A short pipe 9 A further object of the invention is to provide connects the air conduit 6 with the top of the supanautomatic spraying apparatus of simple and ply tank 5 and through which air is admitted to 10 durable construction in which lumber either besaid tank for the purpose of forcing the pre- 10 fore or after being dressed is caused to travel servative mixture within the tank through a through a receiving compartment and there subpipe or conduit in to the lumber within th jected to the action of an aerated preservative compartment 8. spray, whereby the entire surface of the lumber The lumber receiving compartment 8 comprises 1 will be impregnated with said preservative spray a casing or housing H, preferably rectangular in and thus keep the lumber in a good state of presshape, and having its upper and lower ends open, ervation for an indefinite period. as shown, the side walls of the casing ll being A further object is to provide a spraying appr v d With r ver ely aligned openings I2 paratus having a novel form of housing or comto permit the passage therethrough of any desired partment for the reception of the lumber, said length of either dressed or undressed lumber, 20 compartment being provided with spraying nozzles indicated at Disposed Within the Casing II and having inclined guards disposed adjacent and secured to the adjacentside walls thereof said nozzles for directing the surplus preservative are spaced inclined guard plates I4, the inner mixture into a suitable tank adapted to receive s of Which are p d apa t, as indicated at 5 the Same" l5. Extending transversely through the casing A further object is to utilize air pressure for r us ll a v t u p r uard plates I4 is spraying the preservative fluid onto the lumber a Pipe it hav n spaced depending branch pipes and further to provide a system of valves for 17 connected therewith d P ovided with tercontrolling the amount of air admitted to the m alsp ads l8 f r app yi preservative preservative fluid and the passage of said premixture to the upper surface of the lumber I3. 30 servative fluid to the different spraying nozzles. e p p extends through e djacentwall A still further object of the invention is en-- of t casing H and e e w ly, as inerally to improve this class of devices so as to diceted t 9, and is p v ded with a terminal increase their utility, durability and efliciency. nozzle 20 for the Purpose of p y g the ad- In the accompaying drawings forming a part .iacent side edge f the m A i r p 35 of this speciflcation'and in which similar numerals g nozzle 2| is disposed on the other side of the of reference indicate corresponding parts in all casing II for the purpose of spraying the other the figures of the drawings: d e of t e u b said nozzle 2| being con- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a lumber neeted With 8 depending p pe 22 having a right spraying apparatus embodying the present innngllla-l'v extension 23 P j ct within the cast ing beneath the adjacent lower guard plate It Figure 2 is a side elevation of the lumber reand Prov ded with spaced ups a d p pes 24 ceiving housing or compartment. carrying. spraying heads 25 similar in construction Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on o t Spraying heads a d which heads 25 the line 3--3 of Figure 2, serve to spray the lower surface of the lumber 5 Figured is a top plan view, Hi. It will thus be seen that the arrangement Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view taken f th nozzles 20 and 2| and the p y ng heads on the line 5-5 of Figure 3, and l8 and 25 is such that the entire surface of the Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view, partly in lumber l3 will be sprayed with a protective preelevation, illustrating a modified form of the servative film as the lumber l3 travels through 50 m ti n, the casing II. The opposite sides of the casing The apparatus comprises a main'supply tank II are preferably provided with tubular exten- 5 adapted tocontain asuitable preservative mix-, sions 26 and. the nozzles 20 and 2| are centure. such as a cresote solution or the like, which 'tered within said tubular extensions, as best preservative mixture is adapted to be sprayed on shown in Figure 3 of the drawings. The air 2 conductor 6 at a. point opposite the casing II is provided with an elbow 21 which is connected with a branch air pipe 28 communicating with the pipes l5 and 23 respectively so that air from the conductor 6 will be mixed with the preservative mixture prior to its delivery to the spraying nozzles and heads of the lumber receiving compartment. The mixture conveying pipe i is provided with an upper globe valve 29 and a similar lower globe valve 30 for the purpose of controlling the flow of preservative fluid to the spraying heads. Similar valves 3| and 32 are connected in the air conductor 6 for the purpose of controlling the admission of air to the pipes l6 and 23 respectively. It will thus be seen that by adjusting the several valves the amount 'of air and preservative mixture leading to the spraying heads and nozzles maybe controlled at will. A valve 33 is connected with the liquid pipe 23 so as to cut-off the flow of mixture to one of the lower spraying heads 25 when desired and a sim lar valve 34 is connected with one of the branch pipes H of the upper spraying heads 13 for a similar purpose.

Arranged beneath the lower end of the casing I I and spaced therefrom is a drip pan 35 having a transverse screen 36 and provided with a depending nipple 31 in which is threaded one end of a discharge pipe 38 leading to a settling tank 39. It will here be noted that the lower guard plates 14 are inclined downwardly so that as the preservative fluid is sprayed over the surface of the lumber the surplus preservative fluid will be directed downwardly by the guard plates [4 thence outwardly through the passage I into the drip pan where it will pass through the screen 36 and thence be delivered into the settling tank 39.

The settling tank 39 isprovided near its upper end with a screen 40 and extending from said tank beneath the screen is a pipe 4| which discharges into a surplus tank 42 also provided with a screen 43. Arranged above and adjacent to the tank 42 is a pulley 44 over which is trained a belt or chain 45, one end of which is provided with a ball float 45 suspended within the tank 42 while the other end thereof terminates in a weight 46' for keeping the belt or chain 45 under tension. The belt or chain 45 is provided with a stop 41 adapted to engage a pivoted arm 43 carried by an electric switch 49. The switch 49 is connected in an electric circuit 50 with a pump 5| having a pipe 52 leading therefrom and connected with the upper end of the main supply tank 5 so that, when the surplus tank 42 becomes filled or substantially filled with liquid, the movement of the float 46 will actuate the switch 49 to close the circuit through the pump 5| and thus cause the pump to discharge the preservative liquid in the surplus tank through a branch pipe 53 and through the pipe 52 back into the main supply tank. The apparatus is also provided with a mixing tank 54 in which the various chemicals constituting the preservative fluid are initially mixed, the preservative mixture being then permitted to flow by gravity through an inclined pipe 55 leading to the surplus tank 42 abovethe screen 43 therein.

In operation, assuming the main supply tank isfilled or partially filled with any suitable preservative fluid, air is admitted to the top of the tank through the branch pipe 9 and the preservative fluid forced under pressure through the supply pipe ill to the spraying heads or nozzles. As the preservative fiuid approaches the casing H, air is admitted thereto and thoroughly comand four hundred and fifty to nine hundred and fifty,

feet per minute and as the lumber is sprayed, the surplus preservative liquid will be directed into the drip pan 35 and thence flow through the tube 38 into the tank 39 where any sawdust. slivers of wood or other foreign matter is allowed to settle before the fiuid is delivered to the surplus tank 42. The liquid from the settling tank passes through the pipe 4i into the surplus tank 42, and as the level of the fluid in the tank 42 rises the float 46 will correspondingly rise and cause the stop 41 to close the switch 4!! and actuate the pump 5l, thereby conveying the liquid from the surplus tank back into the. main tank, as will be readily understood.

In Figure 6 of the drawings, there is illustrated a modified form of the invention for spraying lumber by hand. In this form hf the device, a liquid conducting pipe 56 andai'r pipe 51 extend through a tubular casing or housing 58 and are each provided with a controlling valve 59. The forward ends of the pipes 55 and 51 communicate with each other at a point adjacent a control valve 60 to which is connected a spraying nozzle 6| of any suitable construction. The valve 50 is provided with an upstanding stem 52 which is actuated by a pivoted hand lever 53 so that by depressing the lever '63 the discharge of liquid through the nozzle may be controlled at will. If desired, this form of the device may be used as an edger arbor oiler in which event oil will be fed through the pipe 55 instead of preservative fluid.

It will thus be seen that the device is automatic in action inasmuch as, after the several valves have once been set or adjusted to the proper position, the preservative fluid will be automatically sprayed over the entire surface of the lumber as said lumber is fed through the receiving casing or compartment. I i

From the foregoing description, it is thought that the construction and, operation of the device will be readily understood by those skilled in the art and further description thereof is deemed unnecessary.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. An apparatus of the class described including a casing adapted to receive moving material, diverging guard plates disposed within the casing above and below the path of travel of the moving material and extending in the direction of 2. An apparatus of the class described including a casing having oppositely disposed openings to permit the travel of a length of lumber therethrough, spraying devices disposed within the casing for spraying a preservative mixture on the upper and lower surfaces of the lumber, nozzles communicating with the interior of the casing at the opposite sides thereof for spraying said mixture on the opposite edges of the lumber, longitudinally inclined guard plates disposed within and secured to the casing above and below the path of travel of the lumber and having their inner ends separated to accommodate the spraying devices and to permit the escape of excess preservative mixture, a drip tank arranged below the casing for receiving said excess mixture, means for feeding a preservative mixture to said spraying devices and nozzles, respectively, and means for admitting air under pressure to said mixture during its passage to the nozzles and spraying devices.

3. An apparatus of the class described including a casing having an open bottom and provided with transversely alinedopen ings to permit the travel of lumber therethrough, upper and lower spraying devices disposed within the casing for delivering a film of preservative mixture on the upper and lower surfaces of the lumber, side nozzles for delivering a film of preservative mixture on the opposite side edges of the lumber, means for supplying a preservative mixture to the spraying devices and nozzles, respectively, means for admitting air under pressure to the preservative mixture before delivery to the spraying devices and nozzles, a drip pan disposed beneath the open end of the casing, and

inclined guard plates arranged within and secured to the casing above and below the path of travel of the lumber and extending longitudinally of said lumber, the inner ends of the guard plates being spaced apart to accommodate the spraying devices and to permit the surplus preservative mixture to drain through the open end of the casing into the drip pan.

4. An apparatus of the class described including a casing adapted to receive moving lumber,

upper and lower sets of spraying devices disposed within the casing for spraying the upper and lower surfaces oi! the lumber with a preservative mixture, longitudinally inclined guard plates arranged within and secured to the casing above and below the path or travel of the moving lumber and having their inner ends separated to accommodate the upper and lower sets of spraying devices and to permit the escape of excess preservative mixture, a drip pan for receiving said excess mixture, valves for controlling the mixture to each set of spraying device's, side nozzles discharged into the casing for spraying the opposite side edges of the lumber, a pipe for feeding a preservative mixture to the spraying devices and nozzles, respectively, an air conductor connected with the mixture carrying pipe, and valves disposed in the mixture carrying pipe and air conductor for controlling the amount of aerated preservative mixture delivered to the spraying devices and nozzles, respectively.

5. An apparatus of the class described including a casing adapted to receive moving lumber, longitudinally inclined guard plates disposed within and secured to the casing above and below the path of travel of the lumber and having their diverging ends separated, spraying devices disposed between the separated ends of the guard plates, a main supply tank adapted to contain a preservative mixture, an air conductor connected with the supply tank and spraying devices, respectively, a feed pipe connected with the main supply tank and said air conductor, a drip pan disposed beneath the casing, a settling tank, a conductor forming a connection between the drip pan and settling tank, a surplus mixture receiving tank, a pipe for discharging material from the settling tank into the surplus mixture receiving tank, a pump, a switch, and a float operating in the surplus tank and adapted to actuate the switch to operate the pump when the fluid in the surplus tank reaches a predetermined height for conveying the mixture from the surplus tank into the main tank.

6. An apparatus of the class described including a casing, adapted to receive moving lumber, upper and lower spraying devices disposed within the casing, side spraying nozzles discharging into said casing, a main supply tank adapted to receive a preservative mixture, a compressed air fluid conductor communicating with the upper portion of the supply tank and operatively connected with the spraying devices and nozzles, respectively, a mixture supply pipe communicating with the lower portion of the main tank and operatively connected with the compressed air pipe for feeding aerated preservative mixtu e to the spraying devices and nozzles, respectively, a drip pan disposed beneath the casing, longitudinally inclined guard plates arranged within and secured to the casing above and below the path or travel of the lumber and having their inner ends spaced apart to receive the upper and lower spraying devices and to permit excess preservative mixture to'fiow into the drip pan, a settling tank, a conductor leading from the drip pan to the settling tank, a tank adapted to receive surplus preservative mixture, a mixing tank communicating with the surplus tank, means for delivering mixture from the settling tank to the surplus tank, a pump operatively connected with the main tank and surplus tank; and means for operating the pump to convey the preservative mixture in the surplus tank into the main tank when the mixture in said surplus tank reaches a predetermined level.

MATTHEW B. FRANK. .0 

